Tuesday, November 4, 2008

This morning, my husband woke up at 6:30 am so that he could get ready and hopefully beat the crowd. He ended up being the 7th person in line and made it home in time for me to go and vote before he had to head to work. I was not looking forward to this election, and was really not all that thrilled that I had to vote. I don't like either one of the candidates running for President, but decided that it was better to vote for the lesser of the two evils rather than not vote at all.

As I drove to my designated polling place, I started to get flutters in my stomach. I remembered an unforgettable lecture given by my government teacher. It changed the way I looked at voting forever. He had us sign a paper saying that we would always vote, no matter what. I have tried to live up to that promise and take my voting quite seriously because of it.

When I reached the front doors I read the sign that said "Voters" with a big red arrow pointing down the hall. At this point, my stomach didn't just have a few flutters... it felt more like huge monarch butterflies having a hay day in my stomach. I was excited to vote. I couldn't figure it out. How could I be excited to vote when I didn't want either one of the candidates to be my next president? Shouldn't I be dreading this moment rather than trying to suppress giggles that were wanting to force themselves to the surface?

While I was standing in the booth looking at the names that were in front of me, it finally hit me as to why I was so excited. I was proud to be an American. Proud that I had been given the right to vote for the next president. Proud that even though neither one of these candidates was my #1 choice, I still had a choice. I think we take for granted all of the rights we are given in this country. I know our country is far from perfect, but at least we are given the opportunity to express our opinions on issues such as this.

Once I finished punching the holes into my card, I took it to the lady up front. She asked me to state my name and as she placed my ballot into the box she said "Hilary ______ has voted". Even though I wasn't all that thrilled for this election, I came to the realization that I should at least be thrilled with the fact that I am given the right to vote. I was also pretty excited about the fact that I got a cool "I voted" sticker!

P.S. Since I have been home I have been watching the news and seeing these GINORMOUS lines! I only had to wait about 5 minutes in line, I can't imagine what it is like for those people waiting 3+ hours. Now I'm curious, how long did you have to wait?